Take that

I have to admit, when Cal’s baseball players told me a month ago that they thought they could still make the NCAA Tournament, I was rolling my eyes on the inside. But here we are with one weekend left, and the Bears actually are in position to get an at-large berth. They’re in the conversation now by winning their last five games, a streak that started with a blowout of nationally ranked UCLA. This team’s success depends on getting strong pitching from others in addition to ace Tyson Ross, who has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the country.

Cal is all alone in fourth place in the Pac-10, and if the Bears finish strong this weekend at Washington, they should get a bid. It would be sweet redemption for the upperclassmen that were snubbed in 2005, when Cal thought it had a bid wrapped up and somehow was left out of the field.